Four inches of ice is all it takes to support the weight of an average-sized person. So it was a relief to know the ice I found myself walking on was over eight inches thick. Keeping this in mind, I trudged across Avondale Lake towards my buddy Kody and his brother, Matt.

It all begins with a hole. Using an ice auger, Kody drilled through the hardened surface with ease.  He then used a scooper to rid the hole of slush, then it was ready to be harvested.

Kody uses a sphere-shaped fish finder to get a good reading on where the fish cluster. It didn’t take long for him to start reeling in a few crappies.

Using maggots and colorful lures, Kody and Matt started reeling up a few kippers from the deep.

It’s just a lil’ guy. Not even enough for a sushi roll, so we threw him back into the chilly waters of Ponderosa in Hayden.

While Kody and Matt tended to their shortened ice fishing poles, they also had a “tip up” a few yards away. This contraption, as you can see below, is spring loaded to fling upwards when a fish hits the line below. Once the fish is hooked, the fisherman then hand reels it up to the surface. Unfortunately, the flag did not see any action on Sunday. 

After all said and done, we (and by “we” I mean Matt and Kody) managed to catch 10 fish for the day. I would have caught a few, but I was busy taking pictures. You know how it is.

This may have been my first time ice fishing, but it won’t be my last. It’s definitely worth a try! Just be sure to check the ice thickness before venturing into the unknown.

Have you ever ice fished? Let us know about your chilly experience in the comments below!